Will the conservatives be shaken by the new Brexit position of the Daily Mail? - Sky News

It has become one of the great modern caricatures: the Daily Mail reader.

Deeply conservative and ultra-traditional, they are often reputed to thrive in cities like Tunbridge Wells (thanks to the old adage "disgusted by ….").

In recent days, Theresa May has appealed to the heads of her parliamentarians to the public in places like this.

Now the recent collection of the editor Paul Dacre brought the Mail itself to change.

Image:Paul Dacre resigned as a publisher after 26 years in the role

The message firmly favorable to the Brexit of Dacre has never failed to provoke; marking the pro-European judges "enemies of the people", threatening to "crush the saboteurs" and challenging: "Who will speak for England?"

Dacre said that support for Brexit "is in the DNA of both the Daily Mail and its readers".

He warned every move to reverse this would be "editorial and commercial suicide".

But his successor has made a significant change in tone, so will it have an impact?

Image:Geordie Greig has softened the Brexit position of Mail

David Yelland, founder of Kitchen Table Partners and former editor of The Sun, says that Mail is extremely influential on one group more than others: the Conservative party and its parliamentarians.

He said that for this reason the card is more important than ever, and added: "The Mail, the Express and The Sun together set the time in this country, this is what mass newspapers do in this country.

Image:The Daily Mail has taken a strong line in favor of Brexit under Paul Dacre

"They do not necessarily influence voters and parliamentarians on a daily basis, but they establish the political climate and since Geordie arrived, time has changed.

"So there are only two newspapers in the daily market that are in favor of a hard Brexit and this is the Telegraph and The Sun.

"And even there – there's a potential for change.

"During the referendum there were five national newspapers in favor of a Brexit at any price, so time has completely changed and this depends mainly on Geordie Greig and also on the Express group."

Image:David Yelland says that the mail was lying on a "daily basis" during the referendum campaign

Mr. Yelland believes that the tabloids have a lot to answer for Brexit, but redemption is possible.

He said, "The thing is, if you come back and look at the front pages of The Sun and the Mail and the Express during the referendum, they told lies on a daily basis about what would happen – how easy it would be to leave. EU, what would be the problem with the EU and so on.

"If you talk to anyone in Europe about the scandal press, they say it's the key thing that swept the vote … at the moment under the new editor the Daily Mail is incredibly close to the prime minister and if he has changed direction it could have a fundamental effect on how all this ends ".

Professor Roy Greenslade, former editor of The Mirror, believes that the change in tone of Mail is too late to make a significant impact.

He said: "I do not think it will make a difference, I think that in practice the readers of the Daily Mail have decided over the years.

Image:Roy Greenslade believes that the point of view of Paul Dacre has "made its way into the conscience" of the readers of Daily Mail

"(The document used to reflect) The point of view of Paul Dacre and 10, 20 years of saying that the same thing has made its way into their conscience.

"They tend to be people, probably over 40, who are very determined and determined by their point of view."

Comic writer Barney Farmer has distilled the caricature of the Daily Mail in the Viz strip, Male Online.

Image:Barney Farmer created a comic book character that was "fully formed by Paul Dacre's worldview"

He said: "It is about an archetypal child of Paul Dacre, a kind of English species that came to maturity by reading the Daily Mail over the last 20 years and its strange combination of lust and rage.

"He is a man fully formed by Paul Dacre's worldview."

Mr Farmer says that the sweetening of Mail will make his life more difficult but the strip will continue.

He said: "It's still out there – that man – the battleship they're trying to transform.

"All these people are still out there (some are jumping).

"There will be some swimming for the Express, so maybe the strip needs a new name, but I do not think there are any good word games around the Express.

"I think I will continue to do it just to remind people that yes, they could call volunteers at the NHS now, but never forget."

The enormous spread of Mail makes it a powerful voice in conservative England – and its readers, who follow their editors in Europe or not, will continue to be an important public for this Tory leader – and for any future.